TOWSON, Md. – Defense was the name of the game on Thursday night and at the most critical of junctures, crunch time. William & Mary used a late 10-2 run to surge past Towson, 67-65, behind a gritty defensive effort at SECU Arena.
 
The Tribe (13-16, 9-8 CAA), which won its fourth straight and for the sixth time in its last eight games, stopped the Tigers on seven of their final nine possession and held the home team without a field goal over the final two minutes (0-of-6). In total, Towson (10-20, 6-11 CAA) scored just four points over the final five minutes as W&M erased a 61-56 deficit with 5:06 remaining
 
W&M scored on three-straight possession in the paint, including a Nathan Knight tip-in with 2:42 left to put the Tribe back in front, 62-61. After Brian Fobbs, who scored 18 of his game-high 22 in the second half, hit a jumper to momentary regain the lead for the Tigers, Knight and freshman Chase Audige knocked down four-straight free throws, two apiece, to give the Green and Gold the lead for good.
 
Trailing by as much as eight in the first half, W&M outscored Towson, 16-5 over the final nine minutes of the period. The Tribe pulled even, 17-17, with an 8-0 capped by a Knight dunk at the 7:37 mark. Defensively, the Green and Gold held Towson without a field goal over the final 5:34 of the first half and outscored the home team, 8-1, during that stretch to take a 25-22 advantage into the locker room.
 
Knight led a trio of Tribe players in double figures with 19 points to go along with six rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots. Junior Justin Pierce added 17 points, eight rebounds and three assists, while Audige finished with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting and six rebounds.
 
How It Happened
- After Audige scored the game's first two points, Towson used 12-2 run to gain control. Of those points, 10 came in the paint, including four from Dennis Tunstil. A pair of Fobbs free throws at the 13:28 mark extended the Tigers lead to 12-4.
- The Tribe used an 8-0 run over 1:10 span to pull even at 17. Law student Paul Rowley and Pierce knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers before Pierce found Knight in transition for a dunk to even the contest with 7:37 left.
- The Tigers scored four straight and took a 21-17 lead on a Fobbs jumper at the 5:35 mark.
- W&M held Towson without a field for the remainder of the first half and closed the period on an 8-1 run. L.J. Owens knocked down a right-wing 3-pointer off a pass from Pierce to give W&M its first lead since 2-0 at 22-21 with 1:50 left. Pierce canned a pair of free throws in the closing seconds to extend the margin to 25-22 at the break.
- Towson briefly took the lead, 27-26, with five-straight points on a Fobbs 3-pointer and a Tunstil lay-up two minutes into the second half.
- The Tribe answered with an 8-0 run. Pierce and junior Matt Milon canned back-to-back 3-pointers before Knight hit sophomore Luke Loewe for a cutting lay-up to extend the margin to 34-27 with 16:20 left.
- The Tigers answered with a 9-2 run to pull even at 36 on a Jordan McNeil 3-pointer with 13:51 remaining.
- Towson hit seven-straight shots, including five 3-pointers, to take the lead. Tobias Howard hit a trio of triples during the stretch, while Fobbs put the home team on top 54-52 at the 7:40 mark. An Allen Betrand 3 pushed the lead to five, 59-54, with 6:28 left.
- The Green and Gold reclaimed the lead with six-straight points. Pierce found Audige for a backdoor-cut lay-up, and Knight dished to a cutting Loewe to draw W&M within one. Milon missed a hook shot in the lane, but Knight was there to tip in the miss and give W&M a 62-61 advantage with 2:42 left.
- Fobbs briefly gave the Tigers a one-point advantage with a baseline jumper on the ensuing possession, but the Tribe answered with four-straight free throws from Knight and Audige to regain a lead, 66-63, it would not relinquish.
- Fobbs' two free throws closed the Tribe lead to one, 66-65, but W&M held Towson without a field goal (0-of-6) over the final two minutes. Defensively, the Tribe stopped the Tigers on seven of their final nine possessions.
 
Inside the Numbers
- The Tribe shot 53.6 percent (15-of-28) in the second half and finished the game at 42.9 percent (24-of-56) overall.
- W&M limited Towson to 30 percent (9-of-30) shooting in the first half, including just 1-of-8 from 3. Despite shooting 48.4 percent (15-of-31) in the second half, Towson connected at a 39.3 percent (24-of-61) clip overall.
- The Tigers hit 7-of-12 (58.3 percent) from 3-point range in the second half and finished the game at 8-of-20.
- The Tribe outscored Towson in the paint, 30-18.
- W&M turned nine Towson turnovers into a 12-3 advantage in points off turnovers.
- The Tribe turned the ball over just eight times.
 
Notes
W&M extended its season-long win streak to four games … After losing five-straight in January, the Tribe finished February with a 5-2 record … With the victory, W&M secures a first-round bye in the CAA Tournament and will play in the 4/5 game at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 10 … The Tribe beat Towson for the third-straight game and improved to 21-18 in the all-time series … Junior Nathan Knight led the Tribe in scoring for the 20th time this season and scored in double-figures for the 22nd-straight game … Knight surpassed the 600-point mark this season (601) and is just the sixth player in school history to reach the milestone … He is just the second, along with Marcus Thornton in 2014-15, to scored 600 points in a season since 1961 … With his five made free throws, Knight moved up to seventh on the single-season list with 152.
 
Up Next
- The Tribe wraps up the regular season on Saturday, March 2, at James Madison. Tip-off is set for 4 pm. from the Convocation Center in Harrisonburg.
- The game will be streamed online via CAA.TV.
- Tribe fans can catch the men's basketball action over the Tribe Radio Network with Jay Colley and Charlie Woollum on the call. The Tide 92.3 FM and 107.9 Bach FM are the flagship stations of the Tribe Radio Network and the audio is also available over the Web at TribeAthletics.com.